COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina recovered two fumbles inside the 10 leading to its only two touchdowns and the Gamecocks used the Old Dominion miscues to beat the Monarchs 23-19 on Saturday night.
South Carolina freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 6:11 to go to finally push the Gamecocks (1-0) past the Monarchs (0-1), picked to finish sixth in the seven-team Sun Belt Conference East Division.
Sellers did not have a stellar debut. He completed just 10 of 23 passes for 114 yards and carried the ball 22 times for 68 yards.
“The biggest thing is just let’s not beat ourselves and I thought we had too much of that tonight,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said, ticking off poor perimeter blocking, dropped passes, costly penalties and players not being in the right places.
Old Dominion quarterback Grant Wilson struggled too. He had both fumbles deep in his own territory, threw a second quarter interception in the end zone and ended the Monarchs last chance with another interception with 1:29 left in the game.
“I didn’t have the ball secured like I should have,” Grant said about his last fumble that led to South Carolina’s winning touchdown. “I’m going to work extremely hard so it doesn’t happen again.”
Beamer called South Carolina’s play unacceptable, starting with his coaching, but said he will never keep his team from celebrating a win.
SOUTH CAROLINA DEBUTS
The Gamecocks had a couple of highly anticipated debuts on offense. One went well and the other is a work in progress.
Raheim Sanders, the all-SEC running back at Arkansas, ran 24 times for 88 yards and a touchdown in his first game.
The Gamecocks didn’t appear to open the playbook much for Sellers, a raw talent who won a state title in high school two years ago, He overthrew several passes and took four sacks. Sellers ran the ball 22 times, and they weren’t all designed or wanted.
“It’s not as easy as you might think it is,” Sellers said. “I need to get better. I’d say just being more patient and being myself.”
Old Dominion coach Ricky Rhane said he was impressed with the beating Norris took and his ability to not make bad decisions. Beamer said his receivers have to help the freshman.
“We don’t want him to run 22 times a game like we did tonight. We got to continue to be better around him. We got to be able to throw the ball,” Beamer said.
THE TAKEAWAY
Old Dominion: The Monarchs will likely lament squandering an opportune chance for their first-ever SEC win. Old Dominion has two wins over Power Four teams — both victories over Virginia Tech.
South Carolina: Plenty of problems from 2023 didn’t appear solved. The offensive line got pushed around though the running game looked a little better. The Gamecocks gained 193 yards but on just 3.6 yards a carry before kneeling to finish the game. But South Carolina did avoid another loss to a Sun Belt team. Appalachian State beat them 20-15 in November 2019.
UP NEXT
Old Dominion: The Monarchs play East Carolina on Sept. 7 in their home opener.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks open Southeastern Conference play at Kentucky on Sept. 7.
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